Public Approval of Congress

Public approval of Congress
is very important as Congress, under the structure of
the American political system, faces elections
every two years. In Congress, all House members are up for election
every two years and one-third of all Senators - therefore, all members of
Congress have to be very aware of what the public thinks of them and the performance
they are perceived to be making.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way
the US Congress has been handling its job?

1980

1990

2000

Change (+ or - over 20
years)

Approve

34%

36%

52%

+18%

Disapprove

48%

55%

33%

-
15%

Do
not know

18%

9%

15%

-
3%

Percentage of people who approve of the way Congress is
doing its job:

1980

1990

2000

Change
(+ or - over 20 years)

Males

33

34

53

+
20%

Females

35

37

51

+
16%

Whites

33

33

52

+
19%

African
American

38

41

57

+
19%

Degree
educated

31

27

56

+
25%

Professionals

31

30

50

+
19%

Unskilled

40

44

48

+
8%

Housewives

29

32

52

+
23%

Union
members

33

36

48

+
15%

Non-Union

33

36

53

+
20%

Percentage of people who disapprove of the way Congress
is doing its job: